President Roh recently sent a congratulatory message to a pro-president political website, called Surprise, to mark its first anniversary. President Roh said in the message that he doubted whether he could have become president without the support of Netizens. He said he had not forgotten the support and aspiration that the Internet users expressed in last year's presidential election, and would do his best to make their dreams come true, which he had done when he ran for the presidency. President Roh also sent a letter to the Gwangju branch of Nosamo to express his thanks for their support.

People are watching with interest as the president again embraces his support groups, considering that after he took office he distanced himself from them and advised them to confine their activities to those of ombudsmen. The pro-Roh Netizens have since been divided over several thorny issues, such as the special prosecutor's investigation into the summit-for-cash scandal, the new party formed by the splitup of the Millennium Democratic Party and the troop dispatch to Iraq.

As a result of the infighting, the strength of the pro-Roh groups has waned. The website Surprise has been branded as a Red Guard for the president even by other pro-Roh Netizens because of its outspoken support for the president and its blunt criticisms of the opposition leader Choe Byung-yul. Some Netizens have noted that Roh is trying to win back supporters by stressing his original goals of prevailing during the National Assembly elections. (Jeong Woo-sang, imagine@chosun.com )